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From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) has raised alarm over the indiscriminate implementation of unapproved salaries and allowances by Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Chairman of the Commission, Ekpo Nta, who made the disclosure, at a workshop for salary inspectors, in Abuja, also lamented that the MDAs also allocate illegal fringe benefits to themselves in total disregard of the law.
According to him, due to willful defiance or ignorance, some MDAs labour under the illusion that they are not accountable to the government that established them. They, therefore, ascribe to themselves unapproved reviews of salaries.
“I want to seize this opportunity to unambiguously state that even where the Establishments Acts of any fully funded, partially funded and self-funded federal agency allows its board and council to determine its remunerations it can only do so after our statutory input in line with section 3(1) of the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission Act 1999. This is irrespective of the fact whether their Establishment Act predates 1993 or not. They are bound by our Act in the same way and manner that the Public Procurement Act 2007, the ICPC Act 2000, Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007, etc, upon enactment whether predating or post-dating their establishment acts, apply to all federal government agencies” he noted.
It’s against this background, NSIWC said that the federal government issued two circulars directing all MDAs to desist from implementing any increase in salaries, allowances and fringe benefits without input of NSIWC.
“The country cannot and will not accept fiscal indiscipline where the personnel budget and the non-regular allowances of the overhead budgets for public service employees are not controlled and spiral out of control without a corresponding increase in productivity, especially in self-funded institutions,” the chairman further explained.
